Extreme flood events are becoming more frequent and intense in recent times, owing to climate change and other anthropogenic factors. Nigeria, the case-study for this research experiences recurrent flooding, with the most disastrous being the 2012 flood event that resulted in unprecedented damage to infrastructure, displacement of people, socio-economic disruption, and loss of lives. To mitigate and minimize the impact of such floods now and in the future, effective planning is required, underpinned by analytics based on reliable data and information. Such data are seldom available in many developing regions, owing to financial, technical, and organizational drawbacks that result in short-length and inadequate historical data that are prone to uncertainties if directly applied for flood frequency estimation. This study applies regional Flood Frequency Analysis (FFA) to curtail deficiencies in historical data, by agglomerating data from various sites with similar hydro-geomorphological characteristics and is governed by a similar probability distribution, differing only by an "index-flood"; as well as accounting for climate variability effect. Data from 17 gauging stations within the Ogun-Osun River Basin in Western Nigeria were analysed, resulting in the delineation of 3 sub-regions, of which 2 were homogeneous and 1 heterogeneous. The Generalized Logistic distribution was fitted to the annual maximum flood series for the 2 homogeneous regions to estimate flood magnitudes and the probability of occurrence while accounting for climate variability. The influence of climate variability on flood estimates in the region was linked to the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) climate indices and resulted in increased flood magnitude for regional and direct flood frequency estimates varying from 0% - 35% and demonstrate that multi-decadal changes in atmospheric conditions influence both small and large floods. The results reveal the value of considering climate variability for flood frequency analysis, especially when non-stationarity is established by homogeneity analysis.


Some oil-based urethanes (urethane oils) were prepared from linseed oil, glycerol, and two types of diisocyanates, hexamethyle diisocyanate (HMDI) and 4,4′- diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI). These urethane oils were used as a rheological modifier in solvent-based coatings. For this purpose the mixture prepared from urethane oil and alkyd resin (AR-UO) was investigated in view of flow properties. Time dependence of AR-UO was investigated by using the hysteresis loop method. None of the samples showed thixotropic flow behavior. The flow type was decided after calculation of the ratio of viscosity at low shear rate to viscosity at high shear rate. The results showed that HMDI-based samples had the smallest viscosity ratio and increasing the amount of aromatic structure caused increasing shear thinning behavior. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 98: 1032–1035, 2005


A model of solid solutions of Ar1 x (N2)x has been studied by Monte Carlo techniques over a wide range of temperatures for various concentrations x. The results are discussed in terms of a recently presented discrete-state model for cubic orientational glasses. Comparison is made to experiment. At temperatures smaller than the fcc- Pa 3 transition temperature of the pure N2 model system, the following phases were found. For x> 0 :9, the Pa 3 structure turns out to be stable. At x D 0:9, the Pa 3 structure is stable, as is a frozen-in orientational disordered phase, which has a local ferroelastic type of ordering. At x D 0:7, indications of two-step relaxation can be observed, indicating a primary and a secondary relaxation. The local order is ferroelastic but the disorder is no longer frozen in. For smaller N2 concentrations, 0:1 <x < 0 :5, neighbouring molecules remain parallel but the relaxation is clearly a one-step process. When translation-rotation coupling is suppressed by keeping the atoms and molecules fixed to their lattice sites, the Pa 3 structure remains stable even at concentrations as low as x D 0:5.


©ARC Page | 62 Abstract The main focus of the study was to investigate the challenges of free primary education in public primary schools since its inception in 2003 in Kenya. The study was carried out in 9 public primary schools in Mombasa County, Coast province. The sample consisted of 9 head teachers, 36 teachers, and 18 pupils randomly selected. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The study findings were that though teachers were highly qualified and experienced they were inadequate, and that teacher-pupil ratio, inadequate physical facilities and teacher professionalism all hindered provision of free primary education. The main challenges the school administration faced were high pupil enrolment, inadequate teachers and instructional materials.


The activities carried out in daily living, such as personal hygiene and health care, they may cause negative effects on the ecosystem, generating alterations on the environment given that consumed several substances of different origin and chemical composition, these substances are relatively little known regarding the impact that will have on the environment and human substances that are recognized under the name of polluting emerging. This experimental study was developed in the parishes of Uyumbicho, Amaguaña, two towns located 1 Km from the shore of the San Pedro river and the parish of Sangolqui near the Pita river, assessed the likely existence of residues of beta-lactam antibiotics and sulphonamides at the 13 sampling points distributed in the following manner: 9 in the San Pedro river and 4 in the Pita river 6 samples of water, were taken to be analyzed using a kit of detection for antibiotics samples were tested 2 times every month, for 3 months, antibiotics were estimated by photogrammetric and statistical analysis. The results are clear with a total of 41 of 78 samples representing 52% of positive cases with the presence of residues of beta-lactam antibiotics and sulfonamides in the tributaries of the rivers San Pedro and Pita.


Consider strategic risk-neutral traders competing in schedules to supply liquidity to a risk-averse agent who is privately informed about the value of the asset and his hedging needs. Imperfect competition in this common alue en ironment is analyzed as a multiprincipal game in which liquidity suppliers offer trading mechanisms in a decentralized way. Each liquidity supplier behaves as a monopolist facing a residual demand curve resulting from the maximizing behavior of the informed agent and the trading mechanisms offered by his competitors. There exists a unique equilibrium in convex schedules. It is symmetric and differentiable and exhibits typical features of market-power: Equilibrium trading volume is lower than ex ante efficiency would require. Liquidity suppliers charge positive mark-ups and make positive expected profits, but these profits decrease with the Ž . number of competitors. In the limit, as this number goes to infinity, ask resp. bid prices Ž . Ž . converge towards the upper resp. lower tail expectations obtained in Glosten 1994 and expected profits are zero.


MgB2/Fe tapes with 2.5-15 at. % ZrB2 additions were prepared through the in situ powder-in-tube method. The phases, microstructures, critical current density, and flux pinning were characterized by means of x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and magnetic and transport property measurements. Compared to the pure tape, a significant improvement in the in-field J(C) was observed for all the ZrB2 doped samples, while the critical temperature decreased slightly. The highest J(C) value was achieved for the 10 at. % doped sample. At 4.2 K, the transport J(C) increased by more than an order of magnitude than the undoped one in magnetic fields above 9 T. Nanoscale segregates or defects caused by the ZrB2 additions which act as effective flux pinning centers are proposed to be the main reasons for the improved J(C) field performance.


This paper provides a review of the space–time (ST) and Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) techniques developed by the first three authors' research teams for patient-specific cardiovascular fluid mechanics modeling, including fluid–structure interaction (FSI). The core methods are the ALE-based variational multiscale (ALE-VMS) method, the Deforming-Spatial-Domain/Stabilized ST formulation, and the stabilized ST FSI technique. A good number of special techniques targeting cardiovascular fluid mechanics have been developed to be used with the core methods. These include: (i) arterial-surface extraction and boundary condition techniques, (ii) techniques for using variable arterial wall thickness, (iii) methods for calculating an estimated zero-pressure arterial geometry, (iv) techniques for prestressing of the blood vessel wall, (v) mesh generation techniques for building layers of refined fluid mechanics mesh near the arterial walls, (vi) a special mapping technique for specifying the velocity profile at an inflow boundary with non-circular shape, (vii) a scaling technique for specifying a more realistic volumetric flow rate, (viii) techniques for the projection of fluid–structure interface stresses, (ix) a recipe for pre-FSI computations that improve the convergence of the FSI computations, (x) the Sequentially-Coupled Arterial FSI technique and its multiscale versions, (xi) techniques for calculation of the wall shear stress (WSS) and oscillatory shear index (OSI), (xii) methods for stent modeling and mesh generation, (xiii) methods for calculation of the particle residence time, and (xiv) methods for an estimated element-based zero-stress state for the artery. Here we provide an overview of the special techniques for WSS and OSI calculations, stent modeling and mesh generation, and calculation of the residence time with application to pulsatile ventricular assist device (PVAD). We provide references for some of the other special techniques. With results from earlier computations, we show how these core and special techniques work.


In multiagent systems, an agent does not usually have complete information about the preferences and decision making processes of other agents. This might prevent the agents from making coordinated choices, purely due to their ignorance of what others want. This paper describes the integration of a learning module into a communication-intensive negotiating agent architecture. The learning module gives the agents the ability to learn about other agents' preferences via past interactions. Over time, the agents can incrementally update their models of other agents' preferences and use them to make better coordinated decisions. Combining both communication and learning, as two complement knowledge acquisition methods, helps to reduce the amount of communication needed on average, and is justified in situations where communication is computationally costly or simply not desirable (e.g. to preserve the individual privacy).


In the context of the increased interest on integrating the complex spatial and temporal response of fluvial systems to human impacts into the process of assessing the ecological state of the rivers and in promoting a sustainable river management European countries have developed a multi–scalar, hierarchical, process based hydro–morphological framework focused on understanding the river functioning and evolution as a basis for interpreting current conditions. In this context, the goal of this paper is to demonstrate the usefulness of systematic historic and present day geomorphic analysis along channel reaches with distinct typologies in order to generate a better image of river morphology as a background for assessing its present morphological state. The historical geomorphic analysis of Someșul Mic River's channel dynamics during the past 250 years has shown that the main controlling factor is climate through its centennial – decadal scale variations in magnitudes and amplitudes of flood events, while the local geological conditions and hydrotechnical works having subordinate effects. The reference condition in assessing the present day morphological state of the river was defined based on channel typology and dynamics between AD 1860 – AD 1970, reflecting a river state far from a pristine condition, but characterized trough human impacts maintained bellow the river sensitivity to disturbances. The Morphological Quality Index (MQI) was calculated for 17 distinct channel reaches. Its values indicate the high geomorphic degradation of the river induced by hydrotechnical interventions along the channel. Very poor conditions are concentrated mainly along the upper reaches of the river, while further downstream the river is in a dominantly moderate deterioration state. The resulted image has the potential to better identify the critical reaches along this river, and the main disturbatory elements acting on them, in order to support better projections on possible channel trajectories andsubsequently river management actions.


This case study describes the path to an all glass enclosure that was recently built at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Material Research in Dresden. The idea of a fully transparent structure without distracting metal bolts or clamps was developed from the first idea to final solution in close collaboration between the client, the design team, researchers and industrial partners. Four glass frames, joined by transparent acrylate adhesives at their edges, support the outer walls and the ceiling of the glass enclosure. Regular loading scenarios as well as different failure scenarios were analysed to evaluate redundancy of the structural system. Comprehensive testing was carried out, based on previous research on acrylate adhesives.


Background Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are the biological vectors of globally significant arboviruses of livestock including bluetongue virus (BTV), African horse sickness virus (AHSV) and the recently emerging Schmallenberg virus (SBV). From 2006–2009 outbreaks of BTV in northern Europe inflicted major disruption and economic losses to farmers and several attempts were made to implicate Palaearctic Culicoides species as vectors. Results from these studies were difficult to interpret as they used semi-quantitative RT-PCR (sqPCR) assays as the major diagnostic tool, a technique that had not been validated for use in this role. In this study we validate the use of these assays by carrying out time-series detection of BTV RNA in two colony species of Culicoides and compare the results with the more traditional isolation of infectious BTV on cell culture. Methodology/Principal Findings A BTV serotype 1 strain mixed with horse blood was fed to several hundred individuals of Culicoides sonorensis (Wirth & Jones) and C. nubeculosus (Mg.) using a membrane-based assay and replete individuals were then incubated at 25°C. At daily intervals 25 Culicoides of each species were removed from incubation, homogenised and BTV quantified in each individual using sqPCR (Cq values) and virus isolation on a KC-C. sonorensis embryonic cell line, followed by antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In addition, comparisons were also drawn between the results obtained with whole C. sonorensis and with individually dissected individuals to determine the level of BTV dissemination. Conclusions/Significance Cq values generated from time-series infection experiments in both C. sonorensis and C. nubeculosus confirmed previous studies that relied upon the isolation and detection of infectious BTV. Implications on the testing of field-collected Culicoides as potential virus vectors by PCR assays and the use of such assays as front-line tools for use in diagnostic laboratories in this role are discussed.


An introductory review of the central ideas in the modern theory of dynamic critical phenomena is followed by a more detailed account of recent developments in the field. The concepts of the conventional theory, mode-coupling, scaling, universality, and the renormalization group are introduced and are illustrated in the context of a simple example\char22{}the phase separation of a symmetric binary fluid. The renormalization group is then developed in some detail, and applied to a variety of systems. The main dynamic universality classes are identified and characterized. It is found that the mode-coupling and renormalization group theories successfully explain available experimental data at the critical point of pure fluids, and binary mixtures, and at many magnetic phase transitions, but that a number of discrepancies exist with data at the superfluid transition of $^{4}\mathrm{He}$.


Introduction Field experiments of gap-based harvest systems in temperate northern hardwood forests have provided inconsistent support for the theory that such regeneration approaches can improve regeneration success among increasingly underrepresented tree species intermediate in shade tolerance. We established a field experiment in Wisconsin, USA testing the long-term response of tree regeneration to group selection harvesting that created small (50 m2–D:H 0.32), medium (200 m2—D:H 0.64) and large (380 m2—D:H 0.88) gaps. Materials and methods Light levels were modeled to test the assumption of resource heterogeneity within and across these gap sizes. Spatial statistics were used to assess whether the point patterns of saplings of several midtolerant tree species (Betula alleghaniensis, Carya cordiformis, Fraxinus spp.) mapped in harvest gaps provided evidence for partitioning across resource gradients 9 years post-harvest. Finally, we measured occurrence and height of all saplings within the harvest gaps to test the effects of gap size and deer exclusion fencing on the density and total height of shade-tolerant and midtolerant tree regeneration. Results and discussion Light levels progressively increased with gap size, varied by position within gaps, and provided significant evidence of resource heterogeneity. The complex light gradients formed both within and across the three gap sizes may partially explain the statistically significant clustering of Fraxinus spp. saplings in gap centers and north and east into the forested edge of medium and large gaps, C. cordiformis on the west sides of forested transitions surrounding large gaps, and B. alleghaniensis in the centers of large gaps. Densities of tolerant and midtolerant saplings were similar in medium and large gaps after nine growing seasons, though tolerant saplings averaged two meters taller across all three gap sizes. Our results show that gap-based silvicultural systems can create resource gradients that are sufficient to regenerate mixtures of species with high to intermediate tolerance of shade. However, prescriptions beyond harvesting and deer exclusion fencing may be necessary for the recruitment of midtolerant species to canopy positions.


The significant increase in energy consumption and the rapid development of renewable energy, such as solar power and wind power, have brought huge challenges to energy security and the environment, which, in the meantime, stimulate the development of energy networks toward a more intelligent direction. Smart meters are the most fundamental components in the intelligent energy networks (IENs). In addition to measuring energy flows, smart energy meters can exchange the information on energy consumption and the status of energy networks between utility companies and consumers. Furthermore, smart energy meters can also be used to monitor and control home appliances and other devices according to the individual consumer's instruction. This paper systematically reviews the development and deployment of smart energy meters, including smart electricity meters, smart heat meters, and smart gas meters. By examining various functions and applications of smart energy meters, as well as associated benefits and costs, this paper provides insights and guidelines regarding the future development of smart meters.


Technological innovations often formulate new market regimes and create incentives to abandon existing, less attractive ones. However, this decision depends not only on market forces, such as economic and technological uncertainty, but also on attitudes toward risk. Although greater risk aversion typically raises the incentive to postpone investment, the impact of risk aversion becomes more complex when a firm has discretion over both the timing and the size of a project. We develop a utility-based regime-switching framework in order to analyze how a firm with discretion over investment timing and project scale may choose to abandon an existing market regime to enter a new one. Results indicate that greater risk aversion hastens investment in an existing regime by decreasing the amount of installed capacity, but delays its abandonment, thereby hindering the transition to a new one. In contrast, greater demand uncertainty in the new market regime raises the value of the investment opportunity and, in turn, the incentive to abandon the existing regime. Furthermore, we find that uncertainty over the arrival of a technological innovation may accelerate investment in the existing regime and reduce the relative loss in project value in the absence of managerial discretion over project scale.


Intervehicle communication is a key technique of intelligent transport systems. Ad hoc networking in the vehicular environment was investigated intensively. This paper proposes a new clustering technique for large multihop vehicular ad hoc networks. The cluster structure is determined by the geographic position of nodes and the priorities associated with the vehicle traffic information. Each cluster elects one node as its cluster head. The cluster size is controlled by a predefined maximum distance between a cluster head and its members. Clusters are independently controlled and dynamically reconfigured as nodes move. This paper presents the stability of the proposed cluster structure, and communication overhead for maintaining the structure and connectivity in an application context. The simulation is performed with comparative studies using CORSIM and NS-2 simulators.


This communication contemplates the technological incorporation of processes similar to assisted appraisal as an improvement of the technical procedure of urban valuation related to the residential market, applicable to valuers, property managers and financial institutions. The current technical studies of urban valuation, in the business area, have the difficulty of delimiting the differentiation of property values applicable to each urban area, adjusted to the specific characteristics of the buildings and their surroundings. This question is usually tackled according to general criteria of proportionality to the market analysed in large spatial areas (municipalities, neighbourhoods, etc.). A technical procedure is undertaken based upon objective criteria that allows for the establishment of a methodology and a practical system for the incorporation of social and economic factors, of urban, environmental or accessibility characteristics, that affect the process of the delimitation of spatial organisation of values in a specific territorial or urban area. It seeks to overcome the technical limitations, through the support of GIS tools in the elaboration and creation of detailed information in order to evaluate the geographical or spatial factors that in a precise way are capable of explaining the differences that are produced on the urban structure, and to verify its contribution to the differential formation of the urban values, and to deduce as result of the whole procedure a precise calculation of the differentiation of values. Indicative measures of the implicit value of certain variables are established here following the use of territorial and urban information databases. Systems that provide the calculation of indicators of the spatial components referred to and referenced at a municipal or postal district level, related to the spatial extent of the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona and of the whole of Catalonia, upon which sufficient valuation information is available, having been proportioned by the valuation firm CATSA. In summary this reflects a new experience in the use of multiple regression analysis techniques, as a proven methodology in the systems of massive valuation and appraisal, in order to elaborate a model (an algorithm) capable of considering the different values of housing, adjusted to market conditions, that are produced in a geographical context, taking as a reference a synthesis of the most significant spatial variables of the general functioning of the market.


The irregular switch-based network of workstations is fast becoming a cost-effective platform for high performance computing. This paper presents efficient multicasting with reduced link contention on irregular switch-based cut-through interconnection using the popular up*/down* (UD) routing and unicast message passing. First, it is proven that, for an arbitrary irregular network with UD routing, it is not possible to create an ordered list of nodes to implement an arbitrary multicast in a link contention-free manner with a minimal number of communication steps. Next, three different multicast algorithms are proposed with their respective node orderings to reduce link contention: switch-based ordering (SO), switch-based hierarchical ordering (SHO), and chain concatenation ordering (CCO). A variation of the binomial tree-based communication pattern, with unicast message passing, is used on the above orderings to implement multicast. Then, the problem of node contention is described in the case when multiple multicasts occur concurrently in a system. Using source-based information, the CCO algorithm is modified to propose a source-partitioned chain concatenation ordering (SPCCO) algorithm. It is also shown how the SPCCO algorithm reduces the effect of node contention at the cost of link contention. Using detailed simulation experiments, the proposed multicast algorithms are compared with each other as well as with the naive random ordering (RO) algorithm for a range of system sizes, switch sizes, message lengths, input buffer sizes, degrees of connectivity, destination set sizes, and communication start-up times. For the case of single multicast, the CCO algorithm is shown to be the best to implement multicast with reduced link contention and minimum latency, For the case of multiple multicasts, the SPCCO algorithm is shown to be the best when the start-up overhead dominates the propagation overhead and the CCO algorithm is shown to be the best otherwise. The results also highlight the importance of reducing link contention when designing efficient multicast, even for systems with large input buffers in the switches. Thus, these results demonstrate significant potential to be applied to current and future generation NOW systems with irregular interconnection.


As Peter Stallybrass has recently insisted in no uncertain terms, printers do not print books, they print sheets. What happens to those sheets after they have been printed is none of their concern, unless the printer is also the publisher. Books naturally attract the attention of bibliographers, but printed sheets do not have to be turned into books. This is potentially important for historians of print and print culture, for in the early days of the new technology (as, indeed, even now) many sheets were single-sided products, speedily produced and distributed. Even if books, they did not have to be large: small pamphlets and other material could also be run off relatively speedily. Such minor printing, often intentionally produced as ephemeral, has rightly been identified as one of the foundations of a successful printing house. (2) In the market, such products might be considered as "cheap print," although there was no automatic correlation between such printing and market price: in some circumstances, the products might be inexpensive to produce yet still be sold dearly if the distributor could command the market. Large quantities of single-sheet printed material were produced in England between 1476 and 1536, a good deal of it being linked to the advertising, marketing, and distribution of the various spiritual privileges which fall under the generic heading of "indulgences." (3) The terminal dates are themselves watersheds in English printing history: an indulgence-related document, a confessional letter issued in 1476 for the collection to fund warfare against the Turks, was among Caxton's first products at Westminster, (4) while 1536 effectively marks the Henrician Reformation's elimination of indulgences from English religion, (5) ending a printing tradition which arguably had played a vital part in the shift to the new technology over the preceding sixty years as an important--but neglected--chapter in the history of early English printing. (6) As a category of "cheap print," these documents certainly merit consideration but raise their own specific issues. Three points particularly call for attention: the relationship between print and manuscript "cultures" as print became increasingly accepted in England; the significance of such printing tasks for the printers themselves and for the establishment of print; and finally, issues of textual control and validation in the new technology. Some preliminary comment is needed on the actual documents. They can be separated into four classes, although separation and allocation are not always easy or straightforward. (7) Moreover, boundaries become fluid as the emphasis moves away from indulgences (sometimes in conjunction with other aspects of devotion) and towards other types of devotional printing. Four categories are identified here, but subsequent discussion will focus almost exclusively on the first two. The most important documents were the "confessional letters" or "letters of confraternity." (8) These were in effect sold, the printed sheets being equivalent to receipts for the purchases. (9) Such letters generally gave their holders the power to choose a confessor to confer plenary absolution at the point of death and usually also offered promises of remission of the sufferings which might be imposed by God in Purgatory after death as satisfaction for sins incompletely expunged whilst alive. The letters were usually in Latin but were occasionally printed in English; (10) and were almost always printed on parchment or vellum (probably because they had to be robust as portable documents with an uncertain but potentially long aftersales life). (11) They were printed as form documents, with gaps left at appropriate points to allow the purchaser's name and the date and place of purchase to be inserted by hand. (As printing became more sophisticated, some letters also left spaces to allow Latin word endings to be adjusted for the gender and number of purchasers for each form, as in printed forms issued on behalf of the Roman hospital of Santo Spirito from around 1515 to 1520. …


The abuse of chat services by automated programs, known as chat bots, poses a serious threat to Internet users. Chat bots target popular chat networks to distribute spam and malware. In this paper, we first conduct a series of measurements on a large commercial chat network. Our measurements capture a total of 16 different types of chat bots ranging from simple to advanced. Moreover, we observe that human behavior is more complex than bot behavior. Based on the measurement study, we propose a classification system to accurately distinguish chat bots from human users. The proposed classification system consists of two components: 1) an entropy-based classifier; and 2) a Bayesian-based classifier. The two classifiers complement each other in chat bot detection. The entropy-based classifier is more accurate to detect unknown chat bots, whereas the Bayesian-based classifier is faster to detect known chat bots. Our experimental evaluation shows that the proposed classification system is highly effective in differentiating bots from humans.


This paper presents conceptual basis for developing of training models of interactive assembling system for automatic building of application software systems, obtained during practical works over "Design and architecture of software systems" and "Object-oriented analysis and design" courses. The system is intended for practical demonstration of basic stages and operations in development of complex and critical software. This also includes a consideration of solutions for some substantial problems of complex systems software generation, such as: program module compatibility, formalization of computer interaction and choosing of formal model for human machine interface. In addition, several training model implementations are provided.


An approximate graphical method of calculation is presented for evaluation of the flame speed of premixed combustible gases and its relation to the minimum size of burned gas pocket which can propagate a flame. The theory is applied in a semi‐quantitative manner to the problem of the stability limits of a flame anchored to a bluff body in a stream of high velocity gas. Three different approaches to this problem are made, each of which indicates that the velocity of the gas stream at blow‐out should be proportional to the linear dimension of the flame‐holder, the absolute gas pressure, and the square of the laminar flame speed of the combustible gas.


The use of faecal DNA, although a promising tool for the population monitoring of mammals, has not yet become a fully exploited and standard practice, mainly because low target DNA concentration, DNA degradation, and co-purification of inhibitors demand extra laboratory procedures to improve success and reliability. Here we evaluate a simple method that enables sampling of DNA in the field through the collection of the intestinal cells present on the surface of a scat using a swab. The swab is immediately placed in a vial containing a lysis buffer that preserves the DNA for its later extraction. DNA extracts of three species of herbivores (goat, fallow deer and white-tailed deer), two carnivores (Iberian lynx and domestic dog) and one omnivore species (brushtail possum) were characterised in terms of target and total DNA quantity, PCR inhibition and genotyping success. Direct comparison was carried out with duplicate samples preserved in 96% ethanol and extracted via a commonly used commercial DNA extraction kit for faecal material. Results from these comparisons show that swabbing the samples in situ not only simplifies field collection and sample handling in the laboratory, but generally optimises target DNA recovery, minimises co-purification of PCR inhibitors and provides good quality DNA for the species tested, especially for herbivores. This method is also less time-consuming and more cost-effective, thus providing a more convenient and efficient alternative for non-invasive genetic studies.


This paper presents an application of the weighted least squares (WLS) method to the design of sharp linear phase finite-impulse response (FIR) digital filters synthesized using a modified frequency-response masking (FRM) structure. In our approach, the original minimax design problem is converted into a WLS problem. The WLS problem is highly nonlinear with respect to the coefficients of the filter. However, it can be decomposed into four linear least squares (LS) problems, each of which can be solved analytically. The design problem is then solved iteratively by using an alternating variable approach. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated through solving a low-pass linear phase sharp FIR digital filter example.


The kinematical quantities derived from the velocity field of a nongeodesic congruence are studied. We found the shear tensor components are finite in time but diverge at the event horizon of the spacetime located at $\rho = 0$, while the vorticity is constant. The surface gravity on the horizon is just the proper acceleration of the uniformly expanding distribution of observers, in spherical Rindler coordinates. The Raychaudhuri equation is fulfilled for the congruence of particles worldlines.


In the present study, differences in inorganic solute accumulation in shoots, radicles and cotyledons during the seedling stage of Vicia cracca Linn were evaluated in response to a range of sodium chloride (NaCl) concentrations. Seeds were sown in Petri dishes, germinated and grown with NaCl treatment for 10 days in a growth chamber, with a temperature of 20°C and a 12 h light/dark cycle. Results showed that percentage germination, germination rate, fresh weight and dry weight, and relative water content decreased as the NaCl concentration increased in shoots, radicles and cotyledons. There were no significant differences in dry weight/fresh weight ratios in shoots and radicles among treatments. However, the dry weight/fresh weight ratio in cotyledons was significantly higher at 200 mM NaCl compared to treatments with lower NaCl concentrations. Sodium+ and Cl− concentrations in shoots and radicles increased as the NaCl concentration increased. Sodium+ and Cl− concentrations in shoots and radicles were much higher than those in cotyledons. Similar trends were found for K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, . By contrast, concentrations were lower in shoots and radicles than in cotyledons, while concentrations were similar in shoots, radicles and cotyledons. In particular, K+ efflux was observed in shoots, radicles and cotyledons when no salt stress was imposed. In summary, increased NaCl concentration had adverse effects on germination and post-germination growth. Inorganic ion accumulation in shoots and radicles was high, which might function in osmotic adjustment in those plant organs. By contrast, inorganic ion accumulation did not occur in cotyledons, suggesting that in cotyledons osmotic adjustment might not function the same way as in shoots and radicles, because cotyledons function mainly as storage for carbohydrates or inorganic ions.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background: Acute hospitalization is a frequent reason for live discharge from hospice. Although risk factors for live discharge among hospice patients have been well documented, prior research has not examined the role of neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics, or how these characteristics relate to racial/ethnic disparities in hospice outcomes. Objective: To examine associations between neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics and risk for live discharge from hospice because of acute hospitalization. The authors also explore the moderating role of race/ethnicity in any observed relationship. Research Design: Retrospective cohort study using electronic medical records of hospice patients (N=17,290) linked with neighborhood-level socioeconomic data (N=55 neighborhoods). Multilevel models were used to identify the independent significance of patient and neighborhood-level characteristics for risk of live discharge because of acute hospitalization. Results: Compared with the patients in the most well-educated and affluent sections of New York City [quartile (Q)4], the odds of live discharge from hospice because of acute hospitalization were greater among patients who resided in neighborhoods where lower proportions of residents held college degrees [Q1 adjusted odds ratio (AOR), 1.36; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.06–1.75; Q2 AOR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.07–1.84] and median household incomes were lower (Q1 AOR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.10–1.85; Q2 AOR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.10–1.85; Q3 AOR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.07–1.80). However, these observed relationships were not equally distributed by patient race/ethnicity; the association of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and risk for live discharge was significantly lower among Hispanic compared with white patients. Conclusions: Findings demonstrate neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage poses a significant risk for live discharge from hospice. Additional research is needed to clarify the social mechanisms underlying this association, including greater attention to the experiences of hospice patients from under-represented racial/ethnic groups.


We report the laser excitation and dispersed fluorescence spectra of the A2E <-- X2A1 transition of the jet-cooled MgCH3 radical. Improvements to the experiment have allowed the observation of 6(1)0 and 2(1)0 vibronic features not previously observed. Analyses of these bands, along with the previously reported 0(0)0 spectra, yield the rotational constants and values of the Coriolis and the spin-orbit coupling constants for the radical's A2E state. We also are able to rather completely characterize a small, dynamic Jahn-Teller effect. The dispersed fluorescence spectrum was analyzed and all observed X2A1 state vibrational features were assigned. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.


After 20 years of research in aquatic photochemistry, there remains a need to identify and constrain many photochemical reactions involving colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM). This thesis uses laboratory and field studies in diverse marine systems to examine the photochemical efficiency and reaction rates for carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), superoxide (O2-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), all important photoproducts, and improves quantitative understanding of photochemistry's significance in biogeochemical cycles. Input of these results to ocean color-based models allowed estimation of photochemical rates on regional and global scales. Direct photo-oxidation of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to CO2 and CO is a significant, albeit poorly constrained, DOC removal mechanism. Working in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, we amassed the largest cohesive CO apparent quantum yield (AQY) data set for any marine region (n=99; 18 paired with CO2), defining distinct inshore and offshore AQY spectra for improved regional photochemical rate models. Analytical limitations for determining CO2 AQY spectra forced the use of ill-defined coastal CO2:CO ratios (~6 − 66) for blue water CO2 calculations, highlighting the need for new direct methods or better proxies to quantify CO2 photochemistry in marine waters. Significant photochemical removal of biologically refractory DOC (RDOC), well-mixed in the ocean but isolated at depth, is not compatible with its 14C age. Reevaluation of RDOC photochemical reactivity using paired O2- and H2O2 photoproduction studies for abyssal Gulf of Alaska samples showed declining O2- steady-state concentrations during long-term exposure, with little or no H2O2 accumulation past ~6 − 12 hours. This is consistent with a loss of O2- source, a shift to oxidative pathways for O2 decay, and a lack of long-term photochemical reactivity for RDOC. Because H2O2 formation is a thermal reaction involving O¬2-, blending remotely sensed sea surface temperature and color allowed correction of H2O2 AQY spectra and production of the first global H¬2O2 and O2 photoproduction rate maps from remotely sensed data. Further analysis of paired H2O2 and CO2 photoproduction experiments indicated that H2O2 is a far better proxy for CO2 photoproduction than CO (CO2:H2O2 ratio = 6.89 ± 1.64), and will lead to constrained estimates for global CO2 photochemical fluxes.


Soundprism, as proposed in this paper, is a computer system that separates single-channel polyphonic music audio played by harmonic sources into source signals in an online fashion. It uses a musical score to guide the separation process. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first online system that addresses score-informed music source separation that can be made into a real-time system. The proposed system consists of two parts: 1) a score follower that associates a score position to each time frame of the audio performance; 2) a source separator which reconstructs the source signals for each time frame, informed by the score. The score follower uses a hidden Markov approach, where each audio frame is associated with a 2-D state vector (score position and tempo). The observation model is defined as the likelihood of observing the frame given the pitches at the score position. The score position and tempo are inferred using particle filtering. In building the source separator, we first refine the score-informed pitches of the current audio frame by maximizing the multi-pitch observation likelihood. Then, the harmonics of each source's fundamental frequency are extracted to reconstruct the source signal. Overlapping harmonics between sources are identified and their energy is distributed in inverse proportion to the square of their respective harmonic number. Experiments on both synthetic and human-performed music show both the score follower and the source separator perform well. Results also show that the proposed score follower works well for highly polyphonic music with some degree of tempo variations.


With the Uddeholm self-restricted thermal fatigue method, the transformation of phase constitutions and morphology of boride layer after 3000 cycles of thermal fatigue test was studied by XRD and SEM and the surface residual stress in the process of thermal fatigue test was researched by X-ray Stress Analyzer; the formation of the heat checking of boride layer was also analyzed. The results show that with the high strength and excellent thermal stability of boride layer, morphology of heat checking alters. Therefore, boronizing treatment of H13 steel improves its thermal fatigue behavior.


The evolution of drug resistance is an important process that affects clinical outcomes. Resistance to fluconazole, the most widely used antifungal, is often associated with acquired aneuploidy. Here we provide a longitudinal study of the prevalence and dynamics of gross chromosomal rearrangements, including aneuploidy, in the presence and absence of fluconazole during a well-controlled in vitro evolution experiment using Candida albicans, the most prevalent human fungal pathogen. While no aneuploidy was detected in any of the no-drug control populations, in all fluconazole-treated populations analyzed an isochromosome 5L [i(5L)] appeared soon after drug exposure. This isochromosome was associated with increased fitness in the presence of drug and, over time, became fixed in independent populations. In two separate cases, larger supernumerary chromosomes composed of i(5L) attached to an intact chromosome or chromosome fragment formed during exposure to the drug. Other aneuploidies, particularly trisomies of the smaller chromosomes (Chr3–7), appeared throughout the evolution experiment, and the accumulation of multiple aneuploid chromosomes per cell coincided with the highest resistance to fluconazole. Unlike the case in many other organisms, some isolates carrying i(5L) exhibited improved fitness in the presence, as well as in the absence, of fluconazole. The early appearance of aneuploidy is consistent with a model in which C. albicans becomes more permissive of chromosome rearrangements and segregation defects in the presence of fluconazole.


An early phase clinical trial is the first step in evaluating the effects in humans of a potential new anti-disease agent or combination of agents. Usually called "phase I" or "phase I/II" trials, these experiments typically have the nominal scientific goal of determining an acceptable dose, most often based on adverse event probabilities. This arose from a tradition of phase I trials to evaluate cytotoxic agents for treating cancer, although some methods may be applied in other medical settings, such as treatment of stroke or immunological diseases. Most modern statistical designs for early phase trials include model-based, outcome-adaptive decision rules that choose doses for successive patient cohorts based on data from previous patients in the trial. Such designs have seen limited use in clinical practice, however, due to their complexity, the requirement of intensive, computer-based data monitoring, and the medical community's resistance to change. Still, many actual applications of model-based outcome-adaptive designs have been remarkably successful in terms of both patient benefit and scientific outcome. In this paper, I will review several Bayesian early phase trial designs that were tailored to accommodate specific complexities of the treatment regime and patient outcomes in particular clinical settings.


The Coriolis force in the ocean at mid to high latitudes leads to significant deviation of flow over bottom topography such as seamounts, including formation of Taylor columns. Direct oceanic measurements ([2], [3]) have verified the flow deviations and the presence of Taylor columns over seamounts in the ocean. In this study we consider how this quasigeostrophic flow can be exploited to enhance the performance of an underwater tidal turbine array. For small Rossby numbers, Johnson [1] provides to leading order in Rossby number, analytical solutions for inviscid quasigeostrophic flow over isolated elongated elliptical topography. These solutions are used in our study to predict and explore the characteristics of the flow under flow currents corresponding to various tidal conditions. The results are used to consider a potential design for a layout of turbine arrays that could take advantage of the Coriolis force to enhance tidal current power production.


To understand, evaluate and enhance how vocational education and training (VET) contributes to individuals' development ultimately requires appraising those contributions across their life courses. How VET assists and supports them through key transitions offers a means to appraise its contributions. Here, the concept of a personal curriculum is introduced and evoked to capture the worklife pathways individuals take and the contributions that VET can and should make. Drawing on a current project elaborating individuals' worklife history it is found that three interdependent contributions arise: the person, educational provisions (widely defined) and those from 'community'. The concept of personal curriculum and factors shaping are advanced here.


Context.Unusual stellar explosions represent an opportunity to learn about both stellar and galaxy evolution. Mapping the atomic gas in host galaxies of such transients can lead to an understanding of the conditions that trigger them.Aims.We provide resolved atomic gas observations of the host galaxy, CGCG137-068, of the unusual and poorly understood transient AT 2018cow, which we obtained in searching for clues to understand its nature. We test whether it is consistent with a recent inflow of atomic gas from the intergalactic medium, as suggested for host galaxies of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and some supernovae (SNe).Methods.We observed the HIhyperfine structure line of the AT 2018cow host with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope.Results.There is no unusual atomic gas concentration near the position of AT 2018cow. The gas distribution is much more regular than the distributions of GRB/SN hosts. The AT 2018cow host has an atomic gas mass lower by 0.24 dex than predicted from its star formation rate (SFR) and is at the lower edge of the galaxy main sequence. In the continuum we detected the emission of AT 2018cow and of a star-forming region in the north-eastern part of the bar (away from AT 2018cow). This region hosts a third of the galaxy's SFR.Conclusions.The absence of atomic gas concentration close to AT 2018cow, along with a normal SFR and regular HIvelocity field, sets CGCG137-068 apart from GRB/SN hosts studied in HI. The environment of AT 2018cow therefore suggests that its progenitor may not have been a massive star. Our findings are consistent with an origin of the transient that does not require a connection between its progenitor and gas concentration or inflow: an exploding low-mass star, a tidal disruption event, a merger of white dwarfs, or a merger between a neutron star and a giant star. We interpret the recently reported atomic gas ring in CGCG 137-068 as a result of internal processes connected with gravitational resonances caused by the bar.


Wire saw has a unique benefit in cutting precious material like SiC, Si monocrystal and gem etc since the cutting force is small, and the kerf loss is low and so on. In the common wire saw cutting process, the production efficiency is low, the wire saw wear is dramatic severe, the surface roughness of part is not expected and collapses flaws often occur on wafer as well, all those problems have a heavy effectiveness on wafer quality. In order to solve those problem, the ultrasonic vibration machining (UVM) has been applied to cut the hard & brittle materials which has a significant improvement on surface integrity of wafer and increasingly apply to nonconductive materials cutting, such as glass, ceramics, Si, gem and so on. In this paper, the cutting force for SiC monocrystal wafer by wire saw with UVM is studied, the mathematic model of cutting force for wire saw with UVM is discussed and the Fourier series expansion is used to solve the equation of cutting force. The experiments that the process parameters influence on the cutting force by common wire saw cutting and wire saw with UVM are conducted, respectively. The result show that wire saw with UVM can significantly decrease the cutting force, which is consistent with the theoretical analysis.


Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) have attracted attention as building blocks for sustainable materials owing to their high performance and the advantages of their abundant natural resources. Bioinspired CNF/polymer nanocomposites, consisting of a soft polymer phase and a high fraction (>50 wt %) of CNF reinforcement, have been focused on excellent mechanical properties, including Young's modulus, mechanical strength, and toughness, mimicking the energy dissipation system in nature. However, efficient softening and toughening with a small amount of the soft phase is still a challenge because a large amount of the polymer phase (nearly 50%) is still required to provide ductility and toughness. Here, we describe a topological strategy in the polymer phase for efficient toughening of bioinspired CNF nanocomposites with a water-soluble comb polyurethane (PU). The comb PU provided higher elongation at break and more efficient flexibility for the nanocomposite than the linear PU, even at a small content. Moreover, CNF nanocomposites with 30 wt % of PU content and tetrabutylammonium as bulky counterions showed enhanced toughness (180% higher) and strain at break (250% higher) when compared to pure CNF due to the promotion of slippage between nanofibrils. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the fracture surface for CNF/comb PU nanocomposites displayed the pull-out of mesoscale layers and nanofibrils, supporting that the comb topology promotes the slippage between fibrils. Furthermore, the rheological study revealed that the comb PU has an entanglement plateau modulus lower than linear PU by 1 order of magnitude, related to the loosened entanglements. Our study establishes an efficient softening and toughening strategy while using small amounts of polymer phase addition, promoting interfibrillar slippage with the loosely entangled comb PU phase.


Nanostructured metal oxide bearing composites are new-generation materials for the removal of various heavy metals from water, however, they are inefficient when used in acidic solutions, because of their poor stability, strong H+ competition and surface charge repulsion. To overcome these problems, we designed a new composite (Zr/Mg oxide-PS), which was synthesized by doping hybrid Mg and Zr oxides into negatively charged sulfonated polystyrene (PS) to extend the applicability of such composites to Cu(II) removal in acidic wastewaters. Three different modes of action are involved: the embedded Mg(II) oxide acts as a buffer against changes in the internal solution environment in the nanopore region; the hybrid nano-Zr(IV) oxide together with the Mg(II) species, provides good Cu sorption; and the –SO3H group that is immobilized on the matrix improves access to Cu(II). The obtained Zr/Mg oxide-PS has extensive applicability to acidic Cu-contaminated waters and gives a selectivity of approximately 20 times greater than that of ZrO2-PS. For the wastewater application, an excellent adsorption capacity of 4650 kg wastewater per kg of sorbent was achieved. The effluent met World Health Organization drinking water standards, exhausted materials were readily regenerated, and it was used repeatedly for several cycles. The results suggest that this Mg-containing composite has potential applications in the remediation of acidic heavy-metal-containing wastewaters.


In order to help poor, food insecure and female-headed farmers to build adaptation capacity to changing climatic conditions, it is essential to understand the current conditions of climate-related production shocks faced by small-scale farmers as well as to identify available adaptation strategies. This study of rural maize-legume farmers in Western and Eastern Kenya identified drought, flooding/excessive rain as well as crop pests and diseases as most frequent and important over the last 10 years and all farmers expect the frequency of these shocks to increase during the next 10 years. Although the majority of farmers applied adaptation strategies, a significant proportion of farmers did nothing. In addition, each type of shock calls for specific pattern of adaptation strategies. Replanting is found to be the most common and preferred adaptation strategy to cope with all three shock types and it is the single dominant strategy to cope with flooding/excessive rainfall. Additional common adaption strategies for drought includes sell assets, reduce consumption and borrow while additional crop pests/diseases adaptation strategies are sell assets, borrow and seek treatment. Standard and multivariate probit models identify and analyze determinants of adaptation action as well as choice of particular strategies for each type of climate-related production shocks for different groups of farmers.


We introduce three novel differentially private algorithms that approximate the 2nd-moment matrix of the data. These algorithms, which in contrast to existing algorithms always output positive-definite matrices, correspond to existing techniques in linear regression literature. Thus these techniques have an immediate interpretation and all results known about these techniques are straight-forwardly applicable to the outputs of these algorithms. More specifically, we discuss the following three techniques. (i) For Ridge Regression, we propose setting the regularization coefficient so that by approximating the solution using Johnson-Lindenstrauss transform we preserve privacy. (ii) We show that adding a batch of d+O( −2) random samples to our data preserves differential privacy. (iii) We show that sampling the 2nd-moment matrix from a Bayesian posterior inverse-Wishart distribution is differentially private. We also give utility bounds for our algorithms and compare them with the existing "Analyze Gauss" algorithm of Dwork et al (2014).


Heidelberger had helped to synthesize cyclooctatetrene, the next higher analog of benzene (consisting of a ring with eight
 carbon atoms and four double bonds) during a year of postdoctoral study (1911-12) in the laboratory of the 1915 Nobel Laureate,
 Richard Willstatter, at the Federal Polytechnic Institute in Zurich, Switzerland. His research with Willstatter on cyclooctatetrene
 was controversial, and was questioned as late as the 1940s by Hugh S. Taylor and Charles D. Hurd. Heidelberger, however,
 strongly defended his results, as documented in this letter, pointing out that while Taylor and Hurd showed that cyclooctatetrene
 resinifies and degrades at high temperatures, he had worked in cold temperatures continuously for 24 hours to synthesize a
 colorless liquid that was both stable and reactive. Heidelberger and Willstatter's results stood, and as a consequence
 of their work cyclooctatetrene became a widely used intermediate in organic chemistry.


BACKGROUND
Continuous popliteal nerve block is utilized for postoperative analgesia after foot and ankle surgery. Whether only the total dose of local anesthetic or the combination of concentration and volume determine the characteristics of a continuous popliteal nerve infusion remains currently unknown. We hypothesized a reduction of the incidence of insensate extremity in patients given ropivacaine 0.4% at 4 mL/h compared to patients given ropivacaine 0.2% at 8 mL/h.

METHODS
Sixty-four patients scheduled for major foot and ankle surgery requiring a continuous popliteal catheter infusion for postoperative analgesia were studied. Thirty-three patients were randomized to receive a continuous popliteal nerve block with 0.2% (basal 8 mL/h) and thirty-one with 0.4% (basal 4 mL/h) ropivacaine, reaching the same total dose (16 mg/h). The primary outcome was the incidence of persistent sensory block in the distal sciatic nerve distributions in the postoperative period. Secondary outcomes were the incidence of motor block, NRS pain scores at rest in the postoperative period up to 48 hours after surgery, opioid use and related side effects, patients' satisfaction.

RESULTS
The incidence of persistent sensory block was similar in patients given 0.2% and in patients receiving 0.4% ropivacaine. The incidence of motor block, postoperative pain scores at rest, use of oral opioids, side effects and patients' satisfaction with the quality of recovery were also similar in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that local anesthetic total dose is the primary determinant of continuous popliteal perineural infusion effects.


We propose a cloud-based filter trained to block third parties from uploading privacy-sensitive images of others to online social media. The proposed filter uses Distributed One-Class Learning, which decomposes the cloud-based filter into multiple one-class classifiers. Each one-class classifier captures the properties of a class of privacy-sensitive images with an autoencoder. The multi-class filter is then reconstructed by combining the parameters of the one-class autoen-coders. The training takes place on edge devices (e.g. smartphones) and therefore users do not need to upload their private and/or sensitive images to the cloud. A major advantage of the proposed filter over existing distributed learning approaches is that users cannot access, even indirectly, the parameters of other users. Moreover, the filter can cope with the imbalanced and complex distribution of the image content and the independent probability of addition of new users. We evaluate the performance of the proposed distributed filter using the exemplar task of blocking a user from sharing privacy-sensitive images of other users. In particular, we validate the behavior of the proposed multi-class filter with non-privacy-sensitive images, the accuracy when the number of classes increases, and the robustness to attacks when an adversary user has access to privacy-sensitive images of other users.


Cocaine esterase (CocE) is known as the most efficient natural enzyme for cocaine hydrolysis. The major obstacle to the clinical application of wild-type CocE is the thermoinstability with a half-life of only ∼12 min at 37 °C. The previously designed T172R/G173Q mutant (denoted as enzyme E172–173) with an improved in vitro half-life of ∼6 h at 37 °C is currently in clinical trial Phase II for cocaine overdose treatment. Through molecular modeling and dynamics simulation, we designed and characterized a promising new mutant of E172–173 with extra L196C/I301C mutations (denoted as enzyme E196–301) to produce cross-subunit disulfide bonds that stabilize the dimer structure. The cross-subunit disulfide bonds were confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The designed L196C/I301C mutations have not only considerably extended the in vitro half-life at 37 °C to >100 days, but also significantly improved the catalytic efficiency against cocaine by ∼150%. In addition, the thermostable E196–301 can be PEGylated to significantly prolong the residence time in mice. The PEGylated E196–301 can fully protect mice from a lethal dose of cocaine (180 mg/kg, LD100) for at least 3 days, with an average protection time of ∼94h. This is the longest in vivo protection of mice from the lethal dose of cocaine demonstrated within all studies using an exogenous enzyme reported so far. Hence, E196–301 may be developed to become a more valuable therapeutic enzyme for cocaine abuse treatment, and it demonstrates that a general design strategy and protocol to simultaneously improve both the stability and function are feasible for rational protein drug design.


The emergence of peer-to-peer, collective or community self-consumption, and transactive energy concepts gives rise to new configurations of business models for local energy trading among a variety of actors. Much attention has been paid in the academic literature to the transition of the underlying energy system with its macroeconomic market framework. However, fewer contributions focus on the microeconomic aspects of the broad set of involved actors. Even though specific case studies highlight single business models, a comprehensive analysis of emerging business models for the entire set of actors is missing. Following this research gap, this paper conducts a systematic literature review of 135 peer-reviewed journal articles to examine business models of actors operating in local energy markets. From 221 businesses in the reviewed literature, nine macro-actor categories are identified. For each type of market actor, a business model archetype is determined and characterised using the business model canvas. The key elements of each business model archetype are discussed, and areas are highlighted where further research is needed. Finally, this paper outlines the differences of business models for their presence in the three local energy market models. Focusing on the identified customers and partner relationships, this study highlights the key actors per market model and the character of the interactions between market participants.


Background Etomidate may affect adrenocortical function. We conducted an investigation of the comparative effects of etomidate and propofol during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on adrenocortical function and hemodynamics. Methods Patients in group T received etomidate and those in group B received propofol during intravenous anesthesia in ECT. Patients underwent ECT once every 2 days for 6 times. The serum levels of cortisol (Cor) and adrenocorticotropic hormone were determined 5 minutes before first anesthesia (baseline level, D0), and 24 hours (D1) as well as 48 hours after the last ECT (D2). At the same time, the hemodynamics was measured 2 minutes before anesthetic induction (T0), 30 seconds (T1) and 20 minutes after ECT (T2). Electrographic seizure duration (t), average seizure energy index, and postictal suppression index were recorded. Results Compared with the baseline level, serum Cor levels in group T were markedly decreased, but in normal ranges, at 24 hours after second and sixth treatments. No significant difference in serum Cor level was observed between the baseline and 48 hours posttreatment. In group B, there was no significant difference in serum Cor level between the baseline and 24 hours as well as 48 hours after each treatment. Furthermore, no significant difference in adrenocorticotropic hormone level was observed between the baseline and 24 hours as well as 48 hours posttreatment. However, the hemodynamics markedly changed during ECT and reached the preanesthetic level at 20 minutes posttreatment. The ECT-induced seizure duration in group T was longer than that in group B. However, seizure energy index and postictal suppression index was not significantly different between groups T and B. Conclusions Etomidate and propofol would not affect the adrenocortical function during ECT, and hemodynamics reached normal level in a short time after ECT. Etomidate and propofol were both safe intravenous anesthetics during ECT, although etomidate was associated with comparatively longer seizure duration.


Lasers are nowadays widely applied in additive manufacturing and several laser based techniques related to inkjet printing are emerging. In this paper, surface treatment of nanoparticle coatings using a commercial laser engraving machine are presented. Experiments were performed on (i) thin thermally cured silver nanoparticle coatings on glass and (ii) iron oxide (Fe2O3) nanoparticle dispersion coatings on glass. The laser treatment on Ag films illustrates local melting or dewetting behavior dependent on laser power and on the density of engraving patterns. For Fe2O3 coatings, direct laser writing on dried layers and laser treatment on fluid nanoparticle ink layers are investigated. We demonstrate and discuss in particular the generation of large area laser induced microstructures in vertically confined nanoparticle ink films. Controlled ink accumulation is generated by the laser pulses. Furthermore, 2D porous network structures, as well as laser induced large area filament structures are generated by heat driven capillary flow. Tailored adjustments of nanoparticle inks, film thickness and laser treatment patterns open perspectives for the generation of laser induced self-assemblies, e.g. for novel fabrication processes for 2D metamaterials, for sensor developments or advanced anti-counterfeit applications.


Female enthusiasm toward engaging in physical education decreases significantly with age. This has been linked to, among other things, the negative emotional experiences that sometimes occur when learning and participating in a variety of curricular content such as games or fitness activities. Little is yet known about how females' enjoyment, state anxiety, social physique anxiety, self-efficacy, and causal attributions vary between such content. In this study, we examined how levels of these constructs differed between soccer and fitness testing units in 67 female students in Grade 9 physical education. Results revealed higher levels of affect in fitness testing than in soccer, specifically in state anxiety (p = .04), social physique anxiety (p = .008), and the attributions that "something can be changed" (p = .003) and "is because of me" (p = .01). Students' concerns in the fitness testing unit were mainly apprehension about their performance and physical appearance (i.e., athletic physique), whereas in soccer they were more concerned with social comparisons, how their skills were being assessed, and their lack of skill ability. This, coupled with the prediction (p = .003) of soccer unit performance ratings by emotions and beliefs (notably self-efficacy; p = .003), provides new insight into how these units might uniquely challenge students. Subscribe to TPE


The rise in contact resistance of a tin-plated copper alloy under cyclical minute motion has been studied for both dry circuit and with electrical loads. In the range of circuit voltage and current investigated, the electrical conduction through slightly corroded contacts is shown not to be affected by the electrical load. For moderately corroded contacts, the resistance characteristic shows a sustained plateau near the melting voltage of Sn; and for severely corroded contacts, plateau occurs in the resistance range corresponding to the voltage range of the melting, sublimation, and decomposition of the oxides and the vaporization of tin. Based on our observation, a consistent picture of fretting corrosion and electrical conduction through such contacts is presented.


This paper presents an iris recognition method based on the Morlet wavelet transform real coefficients. Firstly, it locates the iris, then makes normalization to the iris image and gets 512 columns multiplying 64 rows rectangular iris image, ensures the effective iris area. Secondly, it makes one dimension Morlet wavelet transform row by row to the iris image in the effective iris area, gets a series of wavelet transform real coefficients of different scales and gets the distribution figure of these coefficients of different scales. Thirdly, it makes binary codes to the iris image according to the real coefficients of different scales and figures the iris pattern by iris codes. Finally, it sorts the different iris patterns by pattern matching method and gives the recognition results. Many experiments show the recognition rates of this method can reach 98.474% that can meet the demand of iris recognition.


: Daily maximum atmospheric temperatures were used to forecast the seasonal onset of scrub typhus in the Pescadores Islands of Taiwan. The day of the year on which the temperature first reached 30 degrees C was selected as the predictive base. Predictions for 1977 closely matched observed events. The model provides an easy and effective means to forecast the start of scrub typhus epidemics in the Pescadores Islands and could be used for such practical purposes as determining when prophylactic antibiotics should be administered to subjects whose risk of infection with Rickettsia tsutsugamushi is high.


A field‐scale experiment was conducted at a research site using bacterial viruses (bacteriophage) MS2 and PRD1 as surrogates for human viruses, bromide as a conservative tracer, and tertiary‐treated municipal wastewater (recycled water) to investigate the fate and transport of viruses during artificial recharge. Observed virus concentrations were fitted using a mathematical model that simulates virus transport in one‐dimensional, homogeneous, water‐saturated porous media accounting for virus sorption (or filtration), virus inactivation, and time‐dependent source concentration. The fitted time‐dependent clogging rate constants were used to estimate the collision efficiencies for bacteriophage MS2 and PRD1 during vertical fully saturated flow. Furthermore, the corresponding time‐dependent collision efficiencies for both bacteriophage asymptotically reached similar values at the various sampling locations. These results can be used to develop an optimal management scenario to maximize the amount of recycled water that can be applied to the spreading grounds while still maintaining favorable attachment conditions for virus removal.


Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) activates several kinases and transcription factors through interaction with a heterodimeric receptor complex. We previously demonstrated that phosphorylation of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) response element-binding protein, CREB, occurs through a protein kinase A-independent pathway and is required for GM-CSF-induced transcriptional activation of the immediate early gene, early growth response-1 (egr-1). Recent reports indicate that receptor tyrosine kinases can induce CREB phosphorylation through activation of pp90RSK. We performed immune complex kinase assays in the human myeloid leukemic cell line, TF-1, which revealed that GM-CSF induced pp90RSK activation and phosphorylation of CREB within 5 minutes of stimulation. Transfection with the kinase-defective pp90RSK expression plasmid demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in transcriptional activation of a -116 CAT/egr-1 promoter construct in response to GM-CSF. Furthermore, activation of pp90RSK, CREB and egr-1 in GM-CSF-treated cells was inhibited by the presence of the inhibitor, PD98059. In this study, we report that GM-CSF induces CREB phosphorylation and egr-1 transcription by activating pp90RSK through an MEK-dependent signaling pathway. (Blood. 2000;95:2552-2558)


The government of Kenya introduced school based teacher recruitment policy in public secondary schools in the year 2001. This was a departure from the former supply-driven teacher recruitment program, which had been in force since the inception of Teachers Service Commission in 1967.The school based teacher recruitment system was intended to enhance teacher retention, equity in teacher distribution and efficiency in teacher recruitment practices in public secondary schools. However, the school based teacher recruitment policy has faced incessant challenges in public secondary schools in Nyando District since its inception ten years ago. Some of the challenges include poor distribution and retention of teachers in schools with allegations that the exercise is marred by irregularities and local intrigues, thus affecting efficiency of the recruitment exercise. The purpose of the study was to investigate into the implementation of school based teacher recruitment policy in public secondary schools in Nyando District. Discrepancy model was adapted to guide the study. A descriptive survey research design was used in the study. The study population consisted of 49 head teachers of public secondary schools and the Provincial Director of Education (Nyanza province). Stratified random sampling technique was used to sample 26 head teachers from 39 gazetted hardship schools and 5 head teachers from 10 non-hardship schools and thus a sample size of 31 head teachers was used in this study. Saturated sampling technique was used to select one Provincial Director of Education. Questionnaires and document analysis schedules were used to collect data from both Provincial Director of Education and head teachers; in addition in-depth interview was used to collect more information from the Provincial Director of Education. Validity and reliability of the instruments was determined before use. Quantitative data was analysed by use descriptive statistics in form of counts, frequencies and percentages. Qualitative data was analysed for content as themes and sub-themes emerged. The study established that there was disparity in distribution of subject teachers with some being evenly distributed and others being unevenly distributed contrary to the aim of the policy. However, distribution of teachers across schools was found to have improved. The study revealed that the recruitment practice was fairly efficient. The study revealed that teacher retention had slightly improved. The study concluded that the policy had not fully achieved its intended objectives and recommended that the policy be reviewed from time to time to enable it to address the emerging issues. The findings of this study will help the policy makers at Ministry of Education to develop recruitment framework that is effective and efficient.


WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THIS TOPIC
Sevoflurane has antiinflammatory properties, but less is known about effects on infectious inflammationSevoflurane effects on macrophage function in inflammation are not well understood WHAT THIS ARTICLE TELLS US THAT IS NEW: In a lipopolysaccharide model of inflammation, sevoflurane increased mouse macrophage nitric oxide synthase activity and bacteria phagocytosis in vitro and in vivoThese effects were abolished by pharmacologically inhibiting nitric oxide synthase expressionIn endotoxemia in mice, sevoflurane had bactericidal effects BACKGROUND:: Sevoflurane with its antiinflammatory properties has shown to decrease mortality in animal models of sepsis. However, the underlying mechanism of its beneficial effect in this inflammatory scenario remains poorly understood. Macrophages play an important role in the early stage of sepsis as they are tasked with eliminating invading microbes and also attracting other immune cells by the release of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α. Thus, the authors hypothesized that sevoflurane mitigates the proinflammatory response of macrophages, while maintaining their bactericidal properties.

METHODS
Murine bone marrow-derived macrophages were stimulated in vitro with lipopolysaccharide in the presence and absence of 2% sevoflurane. Expression of cytokines and inducible NO synthase as well as uptake of fluorescently labeled Escherichia coli (E. coli) were measured. The in vivo endotoxemia model consisted of an intraperitoneal lipopolysaccharide injection after anesthesia with either ketamine and xylazine or 4% sevoflurane. Male mice (n = 6 per group) were observed for a total of 20 h. During the last 30 min fluorescently labeled E. coli were intraperitoneally injected. Peritoneal cells were extracted by peritoneal lavage and inducible NO synthase expression as well as E. coli uptake by peritoneal macrophages was determined using flow cytometry.

RESULTS
In vitro, sevoflurane enhanced lipopolysaccharide-induced inducible NO synthase expression after 8 ;h by 466% and increased macrophage uptake of fluorescently labeled E. coli by 70% compared with vehicle-treated controls. Inhibiting inducible NO synthase expression pharmacologically abolished this increase in bacteria uptake. In vivo, inducible NO synthase expression was increased by 669% and phagocytosis of E. coli by 49% compared with the control group.

CONCLUSIONS
Sevoflurane enhances phagocytosis of bacteria by lipopolysaccharide-challenged macrophages in vitro and in vivo via an inducible NO synthase-dependent mechanism. Thus, sevoflurane potentiates bactericidal and antiinflammatory host-defense mechanisms in endotoxemia.


The research activities developed by five Italian academic partners (Universities of Roma Tre and "La Sapienza", Sannio, Salerno, and Naples "Federico II") in the frame of a PRIN 2006 research project, supported by the "Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca," are presented. The project involves theoretical investigation, numerical analysis, fabrication, and experimental characterization of metamaterials and (quasi-) periodic structures for applications in electronic devices and telecommunication systems. After a brief introduction about the main goals of the project, the scientific results achieved by the different research units will be detailed.


1. Agri-environment schemes promote organic farming in an attempt to reduce the negative effects of agricultural intensification on farmland biodiversity and ecosystem services such as pollination. Farming system, landscape context and regional differences may all influence biodiversity, but their relative impact and possible interactions have been little explored. 2. The study was performed in three regions (150 km apart, 400-500 km(2) per region) differing in land use intensity. Within each region, seven pairs of conventionally and organically cultivated wheat fields (mean size 4 ha, 42 study fields) were selected to encompass a gradient from heterogeneous to homogeneous landscapes within a 1-km radius around each field. 3. Farming system had the greatest influence on biodiversity. Higher bee diversity, flower cover and diversity of flowering plants were recorded in organic compared with conventional fields. Bee diversity was related both to flower cover and diversity of flowering plants, suggesting plant-mediated effects of the farming system. 4. Differences in bee diversity between organic and conventional fields increased with the proportion of arable crops in the surrounding landscape, indicating that processes at the landscape level modified the effectiveness of organic farming in promoting biodiversity. Similar patterns for flower cover and diversity of flowering plants suggested that landscape effects on bee diversity were mainly resource-mediated. After statistically removing the variance explained by flower parameters, residual bee diversity increased with increasing landscape heterogeneity. 5. Bee diversity differed between the three regions, but the effects of farming systems and landscape context were independent of regional differences. 6. Synthesis and applications. Bee diversity in wheat fields was mainly influenced by farming system, but an understanding of local bee diversity needs to incorporate both landscape and regional perspectives. The consistency of the results in three regions provides a reliable basis for management decisions. Agri-environment schemes that promote organic farming in homogeneous landscapes where there are few remaining flower-rich habitats could have the highest relative impact. However, while organic farming could help to sustain pollination services by generalist bees in agricultural landscapes, other measures are required to conserve more specialized bee species in semi-natural habitats.


Nutrition in infancy - Clinical studies on dietary intake, metabolism and growth

Our aims were to try to determine an appropriate formula protein concentration to be used during the second half of infancy and to evaluate the effects on plasma lipids when breast milk was exchanged for formula and/or weaning foods. Both aspects were studied with special regard to the influence of traditional weaning foods.

Nutrient intake, protein and fat metabolism, and growth were studied from 3 to 12 months in Swedish and Italian infants. Breast milk was gradually exchanged for formula with the same fat but different protein concentrations (13, 15 or 18/20 g/l) and given together with Swedish or Mediterranean weaning foods.

Swedish infants given the lowest protein (13 g/l) formula had lower total dietary intake of protein and indices of protein metabolism more similar to those of breast-fed infants in mid-infancy compared with infants assigned to higher protein (15-18 g/l) formulas. Sufficient amounts of protein was provided to Swedish and Italian infants, since serum proteins and growth were normal in both populations. However, plasma concentrations of some essential amino acids were lower in Italian infants fed low-protein formula, despite higher protein intake. This may indicate that dietary protein from Italian weaning foods was less available in mid-infancy compared with protein from Swedish weaning foods. Dietary intake of protein was found to be associated with plasma levels of insulin-releasing amino acids, with renal excretion of C-peptide from insulin synthesis and also with growth. High dietary supply of protein may probably increase growth by promoting insulin release during infancy. Swedish breast-fed infants had higher plasma cholesterol than those fed formula, possibly since breast milk provides much saturated fat, more cholesterol and less unsaturated fat than formula. These differences decreased during the second half of infancy, when more weaning foods were provided. Moreover, residual effects of breast milk on the plasma lipid profile were lost soon after the termination of breast-feeding. Plasma lipids were lower in Italian infants at 6 and 12 months of age, partly since Italian weaning foods – and possibly also breast milk – differed in lipid composition from Swedish ones. Higher protein and lower fat and energy contents of Italian compared with Swedish weaning foods, may explain why Italian infants were given excessive protein but less fat and energy in late infancy.

In conclusion, protein needs during mid- and late infancy seem to be better met by lower (13 g/l) than by higher (18 g/l) protein-containing formula when combined with high-quality weaning foods. Plasma lipids respond to changes in dietary intake from breast milk to formula and weaning foods, and differ between the Swedish and Italian infant populations in mid- and late infancy, which may partly be due to differences in fat composition of their weaning foods.


Significance Living organisms are characterized by a degree of hierarchical complexity that appears to be inaccessible to even the most complex inanimate objects. Routes and patterns of the evolution of complexity are poorly understood. We propose a general conceptual framework for emergence of complexity through competing interactions and frustrated states similar to those that yield patterns in striped glasses and cause self-organized criticality. We show that biological evolution is replete with competing interactions and frustration that, in particular, drive major transitions in evolution. The key distinction between biological and nonbiological systems seems to be the existence of long-term digital memory and phenotype-to-genotype feedback in living matter. Biological systems reach hierarchical complexity that has no counterpart outside the realm of biology. Undoubtedly, biological entities obey the fundamental physical laws. Can today's physics provide an explanatory framework for understanding the evolution of biological complexity? We argue that the physical foundation for understanding the origin and evolution of complexity can be gleaned at the interface between the theory of frustrated states resulting in pattern formation in glass-like media and the theory of self-organized criticality (SOC). On the one hand, SOC has been shown to emerge in spin-glass systems of high dimensionality. On the other hand, SOC is often viewed as the most appropriate physical description of evolutionary transitions in biology. We unify these two faces of SOC by showing that emergence of complex features in biological evolution typically, if not always, is triggered by frustration that is caused by competing interactions at different organizational levels. Such competing interactions lead to SOC, which represents the optimal conditions for the emergence of complexity. Competing interactions and frustrated states permeate biology at all organizational levels and are tightly linked to the ubiquitous competition for limiting resources. This perspective extends from the comparatively simple phenomena occurring in glasses to large-scale events of biological evolution, such as major evolutionary transitions. Frustration caused by competing interactions in multidimensional systems could be the general driving force behind the emergence of complexity, within and beyond the domain of biology.


Since 1990, profound structural changes in the organization of local government have taken place in Denmark: Changes in the political structure (with the consolidation of political committees), in the administration (with the consolidation of departments and internal decentralization), and at the level of institutions (with decentralization from the administrative unit to the institutions). At the center of the changes are despecialization and decentralization. The longterm goal is to improve service, increase efficiency, share responsability, create a more holistic orientation, as well as to increase the public's influence. A research project has been started to document effects of these changes and to find explanations for them. The research project is still in progress, but initial results show that effects of the structural changes can already be seen in some instances and that it is possible to discern patterns in the relationship between specific structural changes and the changed attitude of local government. However, the research also shows that the goals have not yet been completely reached. One explanation for this may be that different cultures, norms, and values are slowing down the implementation of the changes. To reach the stated goal, it appears necessary to change the perspective of the actors in the organization (i.e., the employees). In Denmark, most of the employees in local government are "professionals," as the term is defined by social science. One way of dealing with cultures, norms, and values is to view professions as the creator of these cultures. Norms and values of professionals are mostly formed outside the organization, but expressed through structures and cultures within the organization. This provides an opportunity to combine structural and cultural approaches to the analysis of organizational development. One of our main theses in the project is that changes in the organization of local government require changes in the professionals' way of thinking and acting. The discussion of the relationship between professions and organizational development will be used to improve the models for change in the reorganization of Danish local government.


Evidence from in vitro experiments and animal and human studies indicate that antibiotic therapy may induce the release of endotoxin from the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. Antibiotics that bind preferentially to penicillin-binding protein-2 (PBP-2) —such as imipenem — are associated with little release of endotoxin, while antibiotics that preferentially bind to PBP-3 — such as ceftazidime — are associated with far greater release of endotoxin. We conducted a randomized, multicenter, double-blind study comparing imipenem to ceftazidime in patients with urinary tract infections caused by Gram-negative bacilli associated with signs and symptoms of systemic inflammation. A total of 33 patients were randomized to receive either imipenem (n = 14) or ceftazidime (n = 19) for initial treatment for urosepsis. No differences in plasma endotoxin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) or urine endotoxin, IL-6 or IL-8 levels were found between the two treatment groups within the first 8 h after antibiotic administration. We conclude that, if differences exist with respect to endotoxin release by these two antimicrobial agents, these differences are not readily demonstrable in this clinical study with carefully defined patients with Gram-negative urinary tract infections.


Flywheel Energy Storage Systems (FESSs) are commonly integrated with wind farms to help them to provide many grid services, including frequency control, voltage control, and power smoothing. Although such systems are not concerned by the severe grid code requirements, their ability to ride-through voltage dips is important to ensure better stability of the power grid. In this paper, the authors propose a robust H∞ current controller for a Wound Rotor Induction Machine (WRIM) based FESS during grid voltage dips. The proposed H∞ controller decreases the negative effects of voltage dips in the WRIM system, such as the rotor over-currents and the active power oscillations. On the other hand, it also guarantees the robustness in the presence of parameter perturbation. The proposed controller is designed using a modified mixed-sensitivity H∞ technique to take into consideration grid disturbances and parameter perturbation. Finally, simulations are made in MATLAB/Simulink using SimPowerSystems to verify the effectiveness of the H∞ controller under grid voltage dips with WRIM parameter perturbation. The simulation results show that the proposed H∞ controller can improve the stability of the WRIM based FESS subject to grid voltage dips and guarantee the robustness with parameter perturbation.


The star S0-2, orbiting the Galactic central massive black hole candidate Sgr A$^\ast$, passed its pericenter in 2018 May. This event is the first chance to detect the general relativistic (GR) effect of a massive black hole, free from non-gravitational physics. The observable GR evidence in the event is the difference between the GR redshift and the Newtonian redshift of photons coming from S0-2. Within the present observational precision, the first post-Newtonian (1PN) GR evidence is detectable. In this paper, we give a theoretical analysis of the time evolution of the 1PN GR evidence, under a presupposition that is different from used in previous papers. Our presupposition is that the GR/Newtonian redshift is always calculated with the parameter values (the mass of Sgr A$^\ast$, the initial conditions of S0-2, and so on) determined by fitting the GR/Newtonian motion of S0-2 with the observational data. It is then revealed that the difference of the GR redshift and the Newtonian one shows two peaks before and after the pericenter passage. This double-peak appearance is due to our presupposition, and reduces to a single peak if the same parameter values are used in both GR and Newtonian redshifts as considered in previous papers. In addition to this theoretical discussion, we report our observational data obtained with the Subaru telescope by 2018. The quality and the number of Subaru data in 2018 are not sufficient to confirm the detection of the double-peak appearance.


Redacting text documents has traditionally been a mostly manual activity, making it expensive and prone to disclosure risks. This paper describes a semi-automated system to en- sure a specified level of privacy in text data sets. Recent work has attempted to quantify the likelihood of privacy breaches for text data. We build on these notions to provide a means of obstructing such breaches by framing it as a multi-class classification problem. Our system gives users fine-grained control over the level of privacy needed to obstruct sensi- tive concepts present in that data. Additionally, our system is designed to respect a user-defined utility metric on the data (such as disclosure of a particular concept), which our methods try to maximize while anonymizing. We describe our redaction framework, algorithms, as well as a prototype tool built in to Microsoft Word that allows enterprise users to redact documents before sharing them internally and obscure client specific information. In addition we show experimen- tal evaluation using publicly available data sets that show the effectiveness of our approach against both automated attack- ers and human subjects.The results show that we are able to preserve the utility of a text corpus while reducing disclosure risk of the sensitive concept.


We present here a new approach that enabled the identification of a new protein from a bacterial strain with unknown genomic background using a combination of inverted PCR with degenerate primers derived from N-terminal protein sequences and high resolution peptide mass determination of proteolytic digests from two-di-mensional electrophoretic separation. Proteins of the sul-fate-reducing bacterium Desulfotignum phosphitoxidans specifically induced in the presence of phosphite were separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis as a series of apparent soluble and membrane-bound isoforms with molecular masses of (cid:1) 35 kDa. Inverted PCR based on N-terminal sequences and high resolution peptide mass fingerprinting by Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry provided the identification of a new NAD(P) epimerase/dehydratase by specific assignment of peptide masses to a single ORF, excluding other possible ORF candidates. The protein identification was ascertained by chromatographic separation and sequencing of internal proteolytic peptides. Metal ion affinity isolation of tryptic peptides and high resolution mass spectrometry provided the identification of five phosphorylations identified in the domains 23–47 and 91–118 of the protein. In agreement with the phosphorylations identified, direct molecular weight determination of the soluble protein eluted from the two-dimen-sional gels by mass spectrometry provided a molecular mass of 35,400 Da, which is consistent with an average degree of three phosphorylations.